GolfNewsRI

Pulling in for our final round, the final round at Metacomet, I couldn’t help but wonder if the course was somehow conscious of its destiny. 

Awash in a sense of surreal melancholy, even the wild life seemed aware of the impending change.

Members of over 50 years, and youth alike, showed up to pay their respects to sacred Rhode Island grounds. 

Although my membership was short, I couldn’t help but feel the history and legacy of what Donald Ross bestowed upon the city of East Providence.  

Normally, golfers fix their divots and ball markers so that following competitors have the best playing conditions.  While this courtesy is often overlooked, during the last days of Metacomet, players couldn’t help themselves.  

The rolling terrains of the fairways and the subtle elegance of the hand rolled greens are features that harken back to a time before heavy machinery was used to sculpt golf courses; a time when golf course architecture harmonized with the environment.

Not even the beauty of a late September sunset could ease the pain of walking my final footsteps across the eighteenth. My playing partner, Jeffrey Okolowitcz, a member himself at Alpine Country Club, was keenly aware of this as well.  

While the course demanded a final sacrifice, bogies for two, I managed to escape at par one last time.  

Although I’m fortunate for the time I spent on the course, I can’t help but feel a sense of anger and remorse.  

Did it have to be this way?

Could more have been done to save this picturesque seaside landscape?  

See The Slideshow Below

All photos are by Ray Palazzo